NEARLY one in four Jetstar domestic flights departed late in the past year, making it the worst airline in Australia for late-running planes.

The low-cost carrier's big sister Qantas was the best when it came to on-time arrivals and departures for the fourth year in a row, a new report shows.

Virgin Australia was the second most likely airline to be on time, followed by Tiger Airways then Jetstar, according to the report from the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport and Regional Economics.